It’s a solid slate this weekend, evidenced by the number of honorable mentions and a bonus tilt in the top 10. One game clearly stands above the rest, but there are plenty of intriguing matchups to occupy your attention before, during and after Georgia at Alabama on Saturday evening. Pace yourself accordingly.

Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 5, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable Mention: Minnesota at No. 12 Michigan, No. 22 BYU at Baylor, Maryland at Indiana, Wisconsin at No. 13 USC, Liberty at App State, Georgia Southern at Georgia State, North Carolina at Duke, Cincinnati at Texas Tech

All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.

T-10. Washington (3-1) at Rutgers (3-0), Friday, 8 p.m., Fox

We’ve got a tie for 10th place this week with a pair of Friday-night bouts, including this brand-new, cross-country Big Ten matchup. The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 (again!) including a narrow road win over Virginia Tech, while the Huskies rebounded from that heartbreaking loss to Wazzu by drubbing Northwestern in their first Big Ten incursion. Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai has been one of the best in college football, ranking third nationally at 152.3 yards per game, and the Knights could make things interesting with a sneaky favorable schedule: no Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State or Oregon. Washington, however, needs this win with a tough stretch ahead: Michigan, at Iowa, at Indiana, USC and at Penn State.

Line: Rutgers -2.5

T-10. Virginia Tech (2-2) at No. 7 Miami (4-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Miami is worth tuning in for purely to watch quarterback Cam Ward, who is looming at or near the top of everyone’s early Heisman projections after tossing 404 passing yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over USF last week. Ward is second among FBS QBs in passing yards and first in passing touchdowns as the Hurricanes have steamrolled their four opponents. Can Virginia Tech mount any semblance of a fight? The Hokies, a trendy preseason darkhorse pick in the ACC, have disappointed thus far, a sentiment reflected by the three-score spread.

Line: Miami -19.5

GO DEEPER

Navarro: Who are college football’s 6 most disappointing teams so far?

Should be a fun one on the blue turf between future Pac-12 foes. Wazzu survived a 54-52, double-overtime shootout with San Jose State last week, with quarterback John Mateer posting 390 passing yards, another 111 on the ground and five total touchdowns. However, a defense that allows 4.8 yards per carry could have a rough time slowing down Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, who leads the FBS at 195.3 yards per game, with nine rushing touchdowns and a preposterous 10.5 yards per carry. Boise State entered the AP Top 25, where it is the only ranked Group of 5 school. Even with a close loss to Oregon, Boise’s College Football Playoff hopes are still alive.

Line: Boise State -7.5

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has thrown for more than 350 yards in each of the Rebels’ four games this season. (Petre Thomas / Imagn Images)

8. Kentucky (2-2) at No. 6 Ole Miss (4-0), Noon, ABC

Ole Miss is lighting it up — best in the FBS in passing yards, total offense, scoring offense and scoring defense — but has yet to face an opponent with much of a pulse. That could change Saturday. Kentucky had then-top-ranked Georgia on the ropes a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps quarterback Brock Vandagriff can build off an improved performance against Ohio last Saturday. But good luck slowing down an Ole Miss offense averaging 670.8 yards per game, led by Heisman hopeful and FBS passing leader Jaxson Dart with a wealth of talent at the skill positions. We’ll see if the Rebs can sustain that pace as SEC play begins.

Line: Ole Miss -17.5

7. Fresno State (3-1) at UNLV (3-0), 3:30 p.m., FS1

Storylines! Undefeated UNLV finds itself at the center of attention in college football. Starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced this week he will sit out and redshirt the rest of this season before entering the transfer portal, a decision that has stirred up plenty of controversy and fallout regarding Sluka’s NIL deals (or lack thereof) with the Rebels. All of this occurs with the backdrop of UNLV weighing its conference affiliation — it decided to stick with the Mountain West instead of joining the revived Pac-12 — as well as the Rebels being squarely in the hunt for that Group of 5 Playoff spot with a pair of wins over Big 12 opponents. Now UNLV will have to block out the noise, with a new starting quarterback (FCS transfer Hajj-Malik Williams, most likely), against a sturdy Fresno State squad that hung with Michigan through three-plus quarters. Drama, drama, drama.

Line: UNLV -1.5

6. Colorado (3-1) at UCF (3-0), 3:30 p.m., Fox

Dismiss the Buffs at your own peril. Last week’s game between Colorado and Baylor wasn’t anywhere near my top-games radar, so naturally it ended with a dramatic overtime victory for Colorado after a ridiculous, last-second, game-tying Hail Mary in regulation. The Buffs are better than last season, particularly on defense. Regardless of whether they can hang in the Big 12 race, the Baylor theatrics were a reminder of why Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are appointment viewing. This week, the Coach Prime effect (and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff”) head to Orlando for UCF, running back RJ Harvey, and the top rushing attack in college football.

Line: UCF -14

GO DEEPER

An improved UCF hopes to ‘seize the moment’ against Colorado

5. Arizona (2-1) at No. 10 Utah (4-0), 10:15 p.m., ESPN

The Utes seemingly established themselves as the class of the new Big 12 last week with a road win over Oklahoma State. And that was without quarterback Cam Rising, who remained sidelined with a hand injury. No word yet on Rising’s status for this week, and frankly, no use trying to predict what will happen there. Fortunately for Utah, freshman Isaac Wilson has done just enough, aided by running back Micah Bernard (sixth in FBS in rushing yards) and a defense allowing just 260.8 yards per game. Arizona had a bye week to lick its wounds after a big loss to Kansas State and needs to find its rhythm. If quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan can get hot, this one could get interesting.

Line: Utah -11.5

4. No. 19 Illinois (4-0) at No. 9 Penn State (3-0), 7:30 p.m., NBC

Allow me to give Illinois the credit that Vegas oddsmakers, evidently, will not. There’s very little that’s flashy, but the Illini have been solid, efficient and opportunistic. Illinois has scored on all 16 red zone trips this season (11 touchdowns, five field goals), has a plus-seven turnover margin (tied for second in FBS) and logged a pair of hard-earned wins over Kansas and at Nebraska. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has been steady, completing 71.4 percent of his throws for 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. But Saturday will be its toughest test yet, and vice versa for Penn State after blanking a terrible Kent State team 56-0 last week. The PSU offense has looked much better under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, quarterback Drew Allar included (70.7 percent completion, 12.6 yards per attempt), but will have to take care of the football against Illinois. If it can do so in a win, the Playoff chatter will get louder in State College.

Line: Penn State -17.5

3. No. 20 Oklahoma State (3-1) at No. 23 Kansas State (3-1), Noon, ESPN

Both of these teams are supposed to vie for the Big 12 crown and a Playoff spot, yet one of them will already have two conference losses come Sunday. The Pokes stumbled at home against Utah and Kansas State suffered a surprise drubbing against BYU in Provo, failing to score a touchdown and turning it over three times. It ups the stakes a bit in this one, with neither side wanting to fall behind in what is expected to be a crowded Big 12 title race. Quarterback play is the one to watch. Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman was briefly benched against Utah before coming back and leading a failed comeback, while K-State sophomore Avery Johnson completed just 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions against BYU.

Line: Kansas State -4.5

2. No. 15 Louisville (3-0) at No. 16 Notre Dame (3-1), 3:30 p.m., Peacock

The Cardinals persevered in their first real test of any note against Georgia Tech, getting scores on defense and special teams along with a spectacular touchdown catch from Alabama transfer wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, who is looking like a big-play threat early. Quarterback Tyler Shough has been explosive and efficient, threading that needle with 11.2 yards per attempt and zero interceptions. But the Cards only scored two offensive touchdowns against GT and haven’t faced a defense as good as Notre Dame’s, which is currently top 20 in the FBS in terms of yards per play allowed. Louisville’s defense isn’t far behind, either, and Notre Dame hasn’t lit up the scoreboard outside of a trip to Purdue. Louisville comes in looking like the more balanced squad, and a road win would put the Cards in the top tier alongside Miami and Clemson in the ACC. For the Irish, a win keeps them on the Playoff path, but a second loss may very well derail it.

Line: Notre Dame -6

GO DEEPER

Behind the scenes with Miami (OH): Not every MAC trip to Notre Dame is a fairy tale

1. No. 2 Georgia (3-0) at No. 4 Alabama (3-0), 7:30 p.m., ABC

The biggest game of the 2024 season thus far: a top-five, SEC showdown. This is actually the first regular-season game between the two since 2020. The three neutral-site meetings since then: 2021 SEC championship, 2022 National Championship (2021 season), 2023 SEC championship. Bama is 2-1 over that stretch, but Georgia got the natty. The stakes are different in this one, as is the head coach on Alabama’s sideline, but the combination of talent and familiarity between the programs has the potential to produce an incredible matchup. Can Georgia contain Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe? Can Kalen DeBoer win his first marquee game at the helm for the Crimson Tide? The Athletic’s Seth Emerson and Kennington Smith III did a nice job navigating those questions and more. There will be plenty of other big games this season, in the SEC in particular. Neither of these teams are even the highest-ranked school in their own conference. But the winner probably will be on Sunday, and how they get there will be fun to watch.

Line: Georgia -1.5

(Top photo of Cam Ward: Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)